The present disclosure relates generally to the reduction of a hip fracture by the placement of a bone plate and associated bone fasteners with instrumentation.
A procedure regularly performed by orthopaedic surgeons is the reduction of a hip fracture caused by trauma. The site of this type of fracture typically exists at the proximal portion of the femur below the head. In order to reduce a fracture of this type, an elongated lag screw is threadingly advanced into the shaft, neck, and head of the femur, and secured to a bone plate. Cortical screws are used to secure the bone plate to the femur distal to the fracture site. Tightening of the lag screw compresses the bone fragments together and facilitates healing of the femur. Many devices have been designed for this type of reduction including the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,438,762, 3,554,193, and 2,526,959, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
When a hip reduction procedure is performed in a minimally invasive manner, it is necessary to advance a bone plate into a patient's body through a small incision and then manipulate the bone plate into a seated arrangement with a lag screw barrel through which the lag screw extends. Since there is only a small incision created in the patient's body, use of a surgeon's hand within the incision to perform the needed bone plate manipulation may not be possible. Thus, an instrument may be used to hold the bone plate to advance it through the incision and then manipulate the bone plate into a seated arrangement with a lag screw barrel. The instrument would need to be able to decouple from the bone plate once the bone plate is in a proper seated arrangement with the lag screw barrel. It would be desirable if these implants and instrumentation were relatively easy to use.
What is needed therefore is apparatus including a plate holder and a bone plate that facilitates advancement of the bone plate through an incision in a patient's body and subsequent manipulation of the bone plate into a seated arrangement with a lag screw barrel. What is also needed is apparatus that facilitates decoupling of a bone plate from a plate holder. What is further needed is such apparatus that are easy to use.